Hackel names attorney, engineer to Regional Transit Authority

Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel has named an attorney and an engineer – not elected officials or mass transit experts – to serve as the county’s representatives on the new Regional Transportation Authority.

Hackel’s RTA picks are Julie Gatti, president-elect of the Macomb County Bar Association, and Roy Rose, CEO of the civil engineering company Anderson, Eckstein and Westrick of Shelby Township.

Gatti and Rose will serve alongside two representatives from Wayne, Washtenaw and Oakland counties, one representative from the city of Detroit and the non-voting chair of the authority from the governor’s office.

Creation of the RTA, approved by the state Legislature in December, allowed for a multi-million dollar allocation to Detroit to fund a light-rail system along Woodward in Detroit. The RTA will oversee federal transit funding for the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transit, SMART; the Detroit Department of Transportation, DDOT; and the Ann Arbor Transit Authority, AATA. The authority will also coordinate bus service and develop a regional transit plan that is expected to introduce express buses – essentially small trains on wheels – on Gratiot, M-59, Woodward and Michigan Avenue.

Assistant County Executive Melissa Roy said Hackel embraced the Legislature’s intentions about the RTA board by avoiding the typical appointees with political connections.

“We wanted to make sure the appointees contributed some expertise to the RTA,” said Roy, who became well-versed in transportation issues while working for the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce. “The RTA will benefit from people with a technical perspective rather than a political perspective.”

Earlier this week, Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson chose a former law partner, Steven Potter, and a former SMART board member, Matt Wirgau, to serve as Oakland’s representatives on the transit authority.

Roy said Gatti will be a “shining representative who has great leadership skills.” Roy brings technical and professional expertise as well as leadership experience in community groups, including service as chair of the transportation committee for the former Focus:Macomb group.

Hackel also intends to form a transportation advisory group that will garner feedback from the community. This group will have broad representation including commuters, schools, businesses, community leaders, members of the special-needs population, seniors and employers.

“It is important that we understand the transit and mobility needs from across the county. There are a number of voices that the new transit plan must reflect and this group can fulfill that need,” Hackel said in a statement. “This will also be a great opportunity to engage the community in good public policy. As policy makers, we need to be directly connected with our constituents.”